Description

J.M.W. Turner was a fascinating and enigmatic figure. Both astonishingly prolific and extraordinarily innovative, he is widely seen as the greatest British landscape painter of them all, anticipating and surpassing the Impressionists in his dramatic interpretations of the effects of light and colour. "The Turner Book" goes beyond the usual interpretations of the artist, revealing the extraordinary self-belief and ambition that allowed him to continue steadfastly with his experimentation in the face of hostile critical attack. The book examines in detail key works and the techniques by which Turner realised them and features revealing extracts from his notebooks, travel journals and poetry. Beautifully illustrated with both famous and unknown works and ranging over the entire course of the artist's career, this is the essential guide to Turner's life and work. Sam Smiles is Professor of Art History at the University of Plymouth at Exeter and the author of numerous acclaimed books, including "J.M.W. Turner", "Two-way Traffic: British Art and Italian Art 1880-1980" and "The Image of Antiquity: Ancient Britain and the Romantic Imagination".show more

Review quote

"'This is easily the best introduction to Turner that I have read in quite a while. It provides an informed audience with an excellent synthesis of the key issues regarding the artist's life, work, and era.... The Turner that emerges here is one that I find entirely congenial and transfixing - and the Turner that a larger public should come to know.'- Professor Kathleen Nicholson, author of Turner's Classical Landscapes: Myth and Meaning."show more

About Sam Smiles

Sam Smiles is Professor of Art History at the University of Plymouth at Exeter and the author of numerous acclaimed books, including J.M.W. Turner, Two-way Traffic: British Art and Italian Art 1880-1980 and The Image of Antiquity: Ancient Britain and the Romantic Imagination.show more